When I found out I was losing the ability to walk, one of my big regrets was not being able to go on long hikes in the mountains with my dog any more. I've always loved taking off when the kids were in school, hiking up to our favorite waterfall, lounging on a little-used side trail and smelling the mountain laurel and water fresh from the rocks.
I live next to the ocean now, so no more mountains. Now my dog walks me, pulling my wheelchair in his purple harness. My husband was rather disgusted by the purple. He thought I should have gotten a "manly color" for our Dobie mix (also a shelter dog). I wanted the dog to match my chair, and since I was the one ordering the harness, I won.
Dogs are wonders. They work for us, love us, give us their all in a way few humans will. It's never pointless or trivial to take some time to just be with your dog. It's all he asks of you.

The way I remember it, the last day of school was always the hottest day of the year, capping at least a week of warm and sunny weather that brought with it the promise of spending every day of our impending summer vacation by the pool or at the beach. I didn't care that my parochial school forc...